New Games

 

I just finished the Bethesda and Xbox showcase at E3 2021 and as always it was a massive overload to the senses.

I also watched the Summer Game Fest the other day, but the only game that grabbed my attention there was Elden Ring. This incredibly anticipated game by From Software (Dark Souls, Demon Soul, Bloodborne etc.) in collaboration with George R R Martin finally has a release date: January 21, 2022. I am interested in finally coming to grips with one of these games, but I'm far from committed to playing. I will at the very least enjoy watching lets plays.

So, back to the Bethesda/Xbox thing.

The first thing that struck me is that this truly is the season of the sequel. There was a small handful of original games, but I can't even remember them anymore, with one exception. We'll get to that later.

Another thing that struck me is how popular snarky, cutesy and quirky has become. Between the Summer Fest and the Xbox presentation, there was a ridiculous amount of games what lean heavily on one or more of those three. I guess it is a change from the ever present gray and brown military shooters with their overly dramatic machismo, but it grates on the nerves after a while. Does everyone have to have a quippy comeback? Does every team need someone to trip and pratfall in an exaggerated way? Well, no. But it has become pretty common and as with all forced comedy, it's rarely funny. I hope they pull it back a bit going forward.

I'm not going to list all the games, there were 27 of them, but some of them were Stalker 2, Psychonauts 2, Age of Empires... sequel, the new Halo game, The Outer Worlds 2, a Pirates of the Caribbean add on to Sea of Thieves, Far Cry 6... the list goes on and on and on.

They cleverly started off with presenting a small teaser for Starfield, Bethesda's upcoming sci-fi RPG. It is the first original setting they've done in over 20 years but I still have no idea what you're supposed to do in it. Seriously, no clue except you are in space and you seem to be an astronaut of some kind. Apparently it launches next year so hopefully we'll find out more before then.

They also showed a pretty little movie for RedFall by Arkane Studios (Dishonored, Prey). This was the original mentioned above. It shows a colorful group of vampire hunters in a sci-fi near future. But again I have no clue of the game play. They did say that you can play solo or in co-op which is nice. So many games insist on multiplayer only, probably in order to sell micro-transactions.

The absolute stand out however, was Forza Horizon 5. Set in Mexico this time, the game is near photo realistic. The skybox is in fact photographed and it all looks incredible. No, scratch that, it looks impossible. I'm saying that as a dude who doesn't even care that much about cars or motor sports. I really urge you to watch that trailer/showcase as it is just that beautiful.

So far, this is the first E3 in years that haven't shown me a single game that has made me sit up an go “Whoah, I need to play that”. That's alright though, as a patient gamer I have no shortage of games to play in the near future.

 

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great and safe week!

Can you believe it?

Last week a leak concerning The Last of Us 2 caused a a major controversy. The highly anticipated sequel to the 2013 hit by studio Naughty Dog and publisher Sony has been eagerly awaited, but now people are angry and rightly so.

I can't say with any certainty who the leaker is, whether it's a disgruntled employee or a hacker or someone else, but the content leak instantly became a hot topic. Naughty Dog and Sony however did the worst thing possible: they started abusing the Youtube copyright system and striking down channels left and right, even ones just talking about the leak without showing any footage.

In case you don't know, if your Youtube channel gets three copyright strikes in a short period, your channel is terminated and for someone who is depending on the ad revenue to survive, this is very serious.

Yes, the channels can protest and they will get their videos back, but this kind of misuse of the Digital Millennium Protection Act is not exactly legal. Legality aside, it is absolutely reprehensible for a company to act in this way not to mention ineffective. It's a perfect example of the Streisand Effect in play.

I for one am getting pretty sick of gaming companies who bully and intimidate people as if they are some kind of mafia. I could say something about boycotting the game here, but in all honesty I wasn't about to buy a Playstation anyway... Still a really sick thing to do though.

The above mentioned story as well as recent rumors and leaks about a new Batman game (debunked) got me thinking. As a side effect of the Covid-19 crisis, practically every game studio has had to delay their upcoming games. All the gaming conventions like E3 and PAX are canceled and in this vacuum of information, the stage is set for click-baiters and rumor-mongers to profit on false and misleading information. It is up to us to keep a cool head and not trust rumors. Unless it is a statement by the companies themselves, there is no reason to believe it, no matter how tantalizing and exciting it may seem. You will only be disappointed in the end.

There was talk that E3 would host an online convention, but this too has been canceled. However, despair not, as Game Awards host Geoff Keighley has apparently organized a Summer Game Fest with most of the big publishers and they will stream their trailers and other info across the summer of 2020. There is a techradar.com article here:

https://www.techradar.com/news/e3-2020-what-to-expect-from-the-years-biggest-gaming-expo

So were are going to get some news soon and that's good. Until then, keep a cool head, wash your hands and join me again next time for more Eccentric Spheres! Have a great week!

E3 2018 so far

Okay, so I'm typing this at 6.45 in the morning after having staggered out of bed at 4.15.

I had to catch Bethesda's E3 show live, and living where I do, meant getting up at this frankly ungodly hour. And on top of that, I didn't exactly get to bed early, which is Microsoft's fault.

Alright, lets break this down. I blame any typo's on my foggy brain.

EA started off E3 first, and apart from Unravel 2 (adorable) and Sea of Solitude (interesting), their entire show was complete garbage. And I'm not saying that because I despise EA, which I do, but their show was lackluster, cringy and a little bit insulting. Their CEO Andrew Wilson had the unmitigated gall to claim they are “concerned about players having an unfair advantage”. After all the BS they pulled with pay to win nonsense...

But enough about the sad trolls.

Last night (my time) was Microsoft's conference, and I was legit exhausted afterward. It was non stop roller-coaster of amazing titles after amazing titles. I'm not even really interested in playing any of them bar two, but the trailers were so good. They showcased fifty titles in ninety minutes. After forty minutes, I glanced at the clock thinking that it was about done, and it just kept going. Utterly incredible. If you have the time, give the show a look, it was incredible. I can't list them all here, but a new Ori, a new Forza, three Gears of War, Kingdom Hearts 3, and my favourite non Bethesda title: Cyberpunk 2077! My mind is still reeling.

Then, just a couple hours ago, Bethesda took to the stage. At first I was a bit confused. It wasn't very good, but then... then Todd Howard took to the stage and stole the show.

Fallout 76 is a online Fallout game, BUT, you can play it alone if you prefer. What we don't know yet, is whether you can play PVE with friends, or if it's either solo or co-op/PVP. We'll probably know soon.

The game is four times bigger than Fallout 4, you can build anywhere, Howard called it “softcore survival”, meaning you loose nothing by dying, and their dedicated servers are going to feature dozens of players at once not hundreds, “it's the apocalypse not an amusement park”.

We're still missing a lot of details, but my sleep deprived brain is very optimistic.

They also announced a cross platform Elder Scrolls game called Blades that will work on everything from phones to VR. They showed a teaser of their first new IP in 25 years, Starfield as well as a screen for Elder Scrolls 6!

And then smaller stuff like, new content for Prey, a new Doom game and a new Wolfenstein game. The new Wolf is the first that doesn't feature good old B.J. It's set in Nazi occupied Paris in the 80's and you play as B.J.'s twin daughters and it's both soloable and co-op. All really really cool.

Then, Devolver Digital was just as bizarre, vulgar, bloody and amazingly weird as last year. They don't make games for me, but kudos for the show.

Still to come are Square-Enix, but I think most of their stuff was shown by Microsoft. Ubisoft should be interesting, and then the PC gaming show. Whew.

Finally, here's the links. Last week I received a complaint about my lack of links, so here you go. I recommend skipping EA, but Microsoft's an Bethesda's are gold.

So that's that, have a great week!

EA. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekKth75c4bg

Microsoft: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phw8aU02zGQ

Bethesda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCDIDOMc948

Devolver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku5DjH8vAtc

Those wicked geniouses

Well, Bethesda has done it again.

Back in 2015, Bethesda stole the show at E3 by not only announcing that Fallout 4 was coming out that Autumn, but that the mobile game (it's on Steam as well) Fallout Shelter was available as Todd Howard, the director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, was speaking.

The crowd and the web went nuts with excitement.

Now, three years later, they're at it again. Last week an odd live stream appeared on Twitch. It featured a test pattern in the background and a table with a Vault Boy statue in the foreground. Some very minor things happened in during the 24 hours the broadcast was happening. Then a wrist watch showing 9:45 appeared and people including me tuned in to that time. Eventually Todd Howard appeared and after some words of appreciation, played the trailer for Fallout 76.

The trailer has since been scrutinized with a level of dedication that would make any CSI show jealous, and for good reason. There is nothing in that trailer that is there by chance. Everything means something, and people are going nuts trying to figure out everything.

Naturally rumors, hopes, dreams and fears are flying high, and for a good day or two, Fallout 76 was all Reddit could talk about when it came to games.

A journalist from Kotaku who seems to have terrific contacts have leaked some information, and I believe what he has to say, but only so far. To get the whole story, to find out what this game is really about, we have to wait until this upcoming Sunday the 10^th, when Bethesda has it's E3 conference. Then, apparently, all shall be revealed.

Until then, everything you hear and read is nothing but rumors and speculations. Even the leaks can be outdated information, or subject to change. It's important to remember that a rumor that was widely believed about Fallout 4 was that you couldn't play as a female. This was blatantly false, but everyone lapped it up.

What we do know from what actual Bethesda employees have tweeted is that Fallout 76 is not Fallout 5. It is something else, probably something to do with multiplayer and building, but nothing is certain.

Todd and co, has repeatedly said that they have two big projects in the pipeline that are something they haven't done before. Until these two games are released, they won't be making Fallout 5 or Elder Scrolls 6. If Fallout 76 is indeed something multiplayer related, then yes, that would be something they haven't done before. But we have to wait and see.

If you want to see the trailer, go to Youtube and search for Fallout 76 trailer. I'd link it, but I'm quietly melting into a puddle, and to be honest, I'm not in the mood to fight with blogger.

That's that, next week we'll know more, and I for one am cautiously optimistic, but until then, have a great week!

Bethesda has really done it now!

When Bethesda announced that they would have a press conference at E3 this year the speculations started to buzz like flies.

At the forefront was Fallout 4 which has now been confirmed, it's even in the Steam store... Other speculations were Dishonored 2, the new Doom and Elder Scrolls 6.

It's not Elder Scrolls 6. But it's everything else!

I just sat down with a cup of coffee and had my mind blown. I'll link the videos down below due to work safety concerns, but wow...

OK, focus.

First off, the rumor that you wouldn't be able to play as a female in Fallout 4 is firmly squashed. You can indeed play female, and the character creation is perhaps the best I have seen so far. It is absolutely gorgeous. So just as I was coming down from that, I saw the building video. Yes, you can create your own houses, even an entire settlement complete with resources you can trade. Then you can set up turrets to defend it all from raiders. But if you don't want to build you don't have to. It's all up to you.

I'm very excited. And it seems like it'll be out in November, but I'm not 100% on that yet.

Now, Dishonored 2.

Oh yeah, this is going to be good. You play as either familiar Corvo or as Emily Kaldwin. Every one who played Dishonored 1 should know that name, right?

It seems that the Outsider has given her an entire new set of skills unlike what Corvo has. And it looks good. The game looks so gorgeous it belong in a museum. Not much to tell about the story yet, but damn it, I'm already hooked.

Finally Doom.

I was a huge Doom fan back in the day. The action, the demons, the setting. All of it spoke to me and I blew the ever-loving hell out of those levels both in Doom 1 and 2. Doom 3 didn't excite me that much, in fact I never finished it. Maybe I'm not really that into FPS's anymore or maybe it was the lack of light that made Doom 3 so uninspiring to me, but this new Doom does look good. It's slated for release in 2016, so plenty of time.

E3 has only just begun, but I'm having a hard time thinking about what the other companies are going to do to have even a chance against Bethesda this year. All I can say is:

Shut up and take my money already!

Here are the videos:

Fallout character creation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXzlkJEUPDs

Fallout Building:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj06B-QQJTM

Dishonored 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnsDyv-TtJg

Doom:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NteAPGprDJk

That's all for now, I need to take some deep breaths and calm down. So until next time, have a great week!

P.S. If you didn't know, the Steam Summer Sale is on as we speak.

Cya!

Rumors and petitions

As I mentioned last week, the internet is buzzing with curiosity about Bethesdas announcement that they'll be hosting their first ever press conference at E3 this year. Next month in fact.

The money seems to be on Fallout 4, which would be great, but many are hoping for Dishonored 2, which I also wouldn't mind. There is an outside chance of Elder Scrolls 6, but I think that's really unlikely since it's only been four years since Skyrim, but you never know.

However, I read – or watched – I can't remember which, an interview with Todd Howard, the executive producer and game director at Bethesda, and in it he said that they're not really interested in making sequels just to make them (cough Ubisoft, cough). And he used Dishonored as an example of a game they're not going to sequel. Of course with established franchises like Fallout and Elder Scrolls, sequels are not only inevitable but really sought after.

If they do make Fallout 4, I hope it will take place in a city environment like Fallout 3, rather than a desert like New Vegas. I do like New Vegas, don't get me wrong, but ruined cityscapes really speak to me far more than mere wilderness. F3 had a good blend of wasteland and ruins, but it's old and done and I'm ready for something new.

In other interesting game related news, I have heard that EA have actually managed to turn their Origins store into something worthwhile. Good customer service combined with money back guarantees have gone a long way to make Origins a good place to get games. I haven't tried it yet, but the buzz sounds promising.

Likewise Good Old Games, or Gog.com have launched a beta for their store client, which should be familiar to anyone who uses Steam. Gog have gotten a lot of good press lately with an ever increasing catalog of games both old and new that they actually quality check. Again I have not yet used their services, but it seems that Steam is getting some healthy competition and not a minute to soon.

Finally for this week, I started watching a let's play for Bloodborne, a Dark Souls style Gothic game. Dripping with dark, gloom and blood, this game looks amazing, but it's PS4 only... I can really honestly state that I hate the practice of only releasing a game on one platform. The number of people who'd go out and buy a 380€ console just to play one game can't be that high, so it's like throwing away money.

And I'm not alone in wanting Bloodborne on the PC. There have been rumors since launch that it would come to PC, but I don't believe it. In fact a petition to bring this game to PC has been going around for a while and garnered quite a few signatures. But we'll see. I won't be holding my breath though.

Oh yeah, an anti Bloodborne to PC petition has also been going around if you can believe it. Some PS4 owners have actually signed this in order to try to keep Bloodborne PS4 only, and I quote:

PC gamers are bunch of elitist douche bags. They don't deserve this PS4 exclusive. If they want to play Bloodborne they should buy a PS4 like gentlemen.

How childish can you get?

Until next time, have a great week!